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Success Story

Model of Success: FQHC Achieves Meaningful Use

March 5, 2013

HARLINGEN, TEXAS — Su Clinica Familiar was honored in a Meaningful Use ceremony on Tuesday, celebrating their achievement as a paperless Federal Qualified Health Center.

“What Dr. Marin envisioned was to have a group of people to work together. We did a lot of detail work figuring out where things needed to be done in the EMR. It was a very lengthy and detailed process,” said Dr. Fred McCurdy, pediatrician at Su Clinica, “We looked at all the workflows and spent countless hours trying to figure out how information flows, not only in our organizations but in the EMR.”

The new workflows transformed their procedures so that everything is transparent and consistent, to ensure the highest quality of care. This is evident in their four locations – Harlingen, Brownsville, Raymondville and Santa Rosa. No matter which site a patient visits, the process is the same.

The key element, though, was communication.

Su Clinica’s commitment and investment on time and personnel made a difference. They invested in GoToMeeting to improve communication between sites, implemented a virtual server so doctors could have remote access, posted internal trainings and workflows on their intranet, and integrated the EMR as part of their culture.

They also invested in smart guidance through the Gulf Coast Regional Extension Center (GCREC) who helped them know where to turn. The GCREC provided templates for Su Clinica to follow and proved to be good insurance to keep them on the right track and headed toward their goal.

“We had some real troopers as physicians. This is the right thing to do for our patients and it’s a lot of work. Our doctors understand that because they want to do the right thing for patient,” said Dr. Elena Marin, CEO and pediatrician at Su Clinica.

“Meaningful Use has the opportunity to really make a difference,” said Dr. Marin, “I like the word ‘meaningful’ because it illustrates you are doing it for a purpose. There continues to be a lot of education. It’s not over.”

For over 30 years, Su Clinica has served the needs of the Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley. Every day, their dedicated medical professionals and support staff are working hard to fulfill their vision to achieve a high standard of excellence in health care delivery and clinical education. They are especially proud of their new multi-specialty clinic in Harlingen. The unique design incorporates a stand-alone pharmacy and four ‘mini-clinics’ under one roof to serve patients in their focus areas of: Dentistry, Internal Medicine, Women’s Health and Pediatrics. With separate waiting areas and patient care staff, they are able to offer a new lever of personalized care for those they serve.